Representative of the federal constituency of Ovia, Edo State in the National Assembly, Hon. Dennis Idahosa said the daily record of accidental deaths at the Okada junction along the state’s Benin-Ore-Lagos highway will soon be a thing of the past as the federal government will soon build A pedestrian bridge.
The revelation was made in a statement provided to reporters in Benin City on Wednesday by Mr. Friday Aghedo, a media adviser to federal lawmakers.
Idahosa said he was so concerned and alarmed by the number of deaths recorded on the highway segment that he filed a motion in the House.
He said a pedestrian bridge over the Okada intersection on the expressway was long overdue given the amount of daily traffic on the road.
Lawmakers seeking re-election in the upcoming election point to building a pedestrian bridge there, in addition to helping minimize fatalities on that section of the highway, to help reduce lost hours due to traffic.
He stressed that besides his primary responsibility to enact favorable laws that affect his constituents, he also has a duty to protect their and other Nigerian lives.
“It was in this context that I filed a motion to the effect that the counting of fatalities recorded on that highway at the Okada junction should stop.
“This expressway is one of the busiest expressways in Nigeria and is a connecting route linking the South West and South East, North and South South regions.
“That intersection also serves as a link connecting communities and towns in the Okada and lguobazuwa areas of Edo Prefecture,” Hon. The statement quoted Idahosa as saying.
